Teme, Illogical as Ever
by kitsuneXXnoXXkyuubi102
Summary: Akatsuki uses Sasuke as bait to capture Naruto. Sasuke seeks revenge. But who is this new member of the Akatsuki? Warning: SasuNaru, character death, rated for possible swearing. Adopted from Wonder of Souls and Light
1. Chapter 1

Alright! So I just adopted this story from Wander of Souls and Light. The first part of the story was written by her so if the writing styles are different then that's why. I hope you all like it.

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto nor any of the associated characters.

WARNINGS: Sasunaru, Character death, OOC (Smart Naruto), rated for possible language. Serious change of plot.

"Talking" _'Thinking' _**"Kyuubi" **_**Flashback**_

Story starts a few months after the Valley of the End._**  
**_

**Chapter 1**

Sasuke... the reason he was here in the first place...

_'Heh... Teme.'_ He thought, as the Chakra whipped around him wildly, red chakra pouring from every pore in mass amounts. That wasn't completely true, It was actually Akatsuki.

But they had used Sasuke as bait.

To lure 'the Kyuubi', bring his best friend gone bad into the organization, knock him out, and hold him ransom for Naruto to come and fight.

He remembered the times before he betrayed them, the Tree-walking, the arguments, the time where he was loosing control of the seal, when he battled Gaara, the evening they were young and didn't know anything about the future...

When he left, when he stabbed with that chidori, when he simply scratched out the symbol for their home village...

All their fights... His smirk...

_'I... really have it bad... and it's not even logical... teme... stupid, stupid teme.. All your fault..'_ (1)

Naruto's thoughts continued to revolve around his best friend as he began to fade into unconsciousness.

_'Well Kyuubi, I guess this is the end...' He thought, but received no reply from Kyuubi, who had mostly faded from his mind '...at least... I know Sasuke is safe...for now...I just...hope he doesn't...do anything...stu . . . pid. . . . . . .'_

_XXXXXXXXXXXXX  
_

Sasuke looked around from where he lay on the ground. What was he doing here? For that matter, where is here?

He sighed before getting up. He was in a clearing of a forest somewhere, but that really didn't tell him much, hell it didn't even tell him what country he was in.

He thought back; the last thing he remembered was that he had been fighting his brother. He'd been knocked out. _'Damn. I lost again.'_

_'What did Itachi want with me anyway. Itachi never comes looking for me, so why now? And why did he leave me here of all places?' he thought irritated and trying to remember what Itachi had been saying to him before he had knocked him out._

Sasuke walked away from the clearing, the sooner he got out of this forest and near civilization, the better. If he kept going straight then there was a good chance that he would come across a road or some kind of distinguishing landmark that could tell him where he was. As it was now he couldn't see anything but trees. That's all there was! Trees, trees and more trees, as far as the eye could see! And it irritated him even more! Of all the places where Itachi could have dumped him, his stupid brother had to leave him somewhere completely unidentifiable!

_'What did Itachi want with him anyway?' Sasuke though as he walked. It really was the big question, What did Itachi want him for and why had he just discarded him it the middle of nowhere when he was done. He was sure Itachi had said what he had needed him for... "SHIT!" _Sasuke practically yelled as he suddenly remembered exactly what Itachi had wanted him for. Itachi had wanted to use him as bait to capture Naruto, and if Itachi had thrown him away that could only mean that he had succeeded and Naruto was probably in the Akatsuki's hands.

It was all his fault! If he wasn't so weak Naruto wouldn't have had to try and save him. If he wasn't so weak Naruto wouldn't be in gone. If he wasn't so weak, he could have saved him!

...He had to calm down...It's already too late to save him, and there's nothing he could do anyway. He'd already lost to Itachi. Sasuke looked to the sky, looking for answers. He'd lost the last person that he had considered important, his last precious person...his _most_ precious person. _'I couldn't protect you Naruto, but I swear...I __**will**__ avenge you.'_

He had to get out of here, he had to get back to Otogakure(2). He'd be able to get stronger there. Strong enough to beat his brother, **and** the rest of Akatsuki.

Sasuke thought for a moment, Itachi probably would have taken him to the Akatsuki's base in Amegakure (3). So he probably wasn't too far from the rain country, but where? If he was on the western side of the country then he had either Wind country to the south or the Earth country to the north, neither one were incredibly appealing. However, if Itachi had left him on the eastern side of the country, then he was probably in the Fire country. That would certainly be much more helpful. It would only be a short trip north-east to get back to Otogakure. Of course, he'd have to pass by Konoha to get there, but he was confident he could sneak past his former village undetected.

So he just had to head north-east, the only problem was that if he was to the west of the country, then he would run right in to Ame (4), and that was something he definitely wanted to avoid.

Sasuke sighed. He'd have to take a chance. Itachi obviously didn't want him dead, otherwise he would have killed him already. So he'd have to trust that Itachi had left his somewhere where it would be easy to escape from, he'd have to hope that Itachi had left him in the Fire country.

Sasuke shifted his chakra to his feet to give him an extra boost of speed as he jumped from tree to tree. He was still far enough away from Konoha that he couldn't even see the village from the tree tops, so he wouldn't have to worry about hiding his chakra yet. There wasn't much chance of being detected this far away from the village. Although, he'd have to hide his chakra once he got closer, and that would slow him down, but he didn't have a choice. He couldn't afford to get caught. He had to hurry to Oto(5) so he could get stronger. He had to avenge Naruto.

**Ok. Done with the first chapter! Let me know what you think. Once again I adopted this from Wander of Souls and Light, so make sure and give her a big thanks. **

**1- This is the end of what Wander of Souls and Light wrote, from here on was written by me.**

**2- Hidden sound village (you should all know this)**

**3-Hidden Rain village (you should know this one too)**

**4- Short for Amegakure**

**5-Short for Otogakure**

**The next chapter will be all about Sasuke's trip back to Oto and maybe his training.**

**Please Review!**


	2. Chapter 2

**Alright! I hope you all enjoyed chapter one. Thanks to those who reviewed, I hope to hear from more of you this chapter.**

**Sorry this is later than I had planned, but it's also a lot longer, so I hope that makes up for it.**

**Disclaimer: I still don't own Naruto or any of the associated characters, although I do own a Deidara plushy! **

**I will be trying to make the chapters longer from now on, but I can't guarantee anything. This one will definitely be longer though.**

**Chapter 2**

Sasuke walked slowly through the forest. He'd been right; he'd been dumped in the fire country after all.

He was currently about an hour walk from Konoha. His travels had slowed considerably since he had first viewed his former village from the top of a tree. Every step he took closer to the village brought new thoughts to his mind. _'Did Konoha even know that Naruto was probably dying right now? Did they know that Akatsuki had captured Naruto? Did they know yet?'_ He knew Naruto had gone off on a training trip with Jiraiya, so it would certainly be possible that Konoha didn't know that Naruto had been captured. A few more steps and more questions filed his mind. _'Would Konoha even care that Naruto was dying? The way they treat him is no secret, would they really be upset that Naruto was gone?'_ More steps _'What if they didn't know?'_

Sasuke stopped. _'Why do I even care what they think? If they don't care about Naruto then it's not my problem.'_ But Sasuke couldn't stop the small voice in the back of his mind that told him that if anyone could save Naruto, it would be the ninja of his former village. He couldn't stop the small part of him that wished Naruto was still alive, that he could still save him. More than anything though, he couldn't stop himself from carefully sneaking closer to the village. This was it, his last hope for saving Naruto.

It wasn't incredibly difficult to sneak into the village, in fact it was really too easy, but Sasuke didn't dwell on the fact. He just had to find a way to tell the Hokage about Naruto and then get out again. It sounded simple enough; the only problem was, if the Hokage actually saw him she would probably throw him in jail, but he'd cross that bridge when he came to it. He'd normally plan ahead, but he had thrown all _logic_ out the window when he had rushed into his former village. He was acting on emotion now, and he hated it.

He carefully got closer to the Hokage's office window. His chakra was completely hidden and he was barely breathing. If anyone were to look too closely they would see through the simple genjutsu used to hide himself. He inched closer; he could hear voices coming from the office.

"The Akatsuki captured Naruto."

'_Was that Jiraiya's voice?'_

"WHAT?" Tsunade's voice yelled out in panic. "When? How?"

"Three days ago, I was unable to get here in time to warn you. It's too late; the toads have confirmed that the sealing jutsu used to extract Kyuubi ended a few hours ago." Jiraiya answered sadly.

'_No. It can't be too late. Was I really knocked out for three days? No! It's impossible.'_

"How? You were supposed to be protecting him! How could you let him be captured?" Tsunade yelled at the toad sage.

"He ran off in the middle of the night. I don't know where he was going, but earlier that day we had had an encounter one of the Akatsuki teams. I don't know what they told him, but they seemed to be content with leaving empty handed."

Sasuke had heard enough. He turned to leave just as silently as he had come. He left no trace that he had been there and was soon out of the village and headed toward Otogakure. He'd gotten the information he needed: there was no chance of saving Naruto. The only thing he could do was work hard and avenge Naruto's death. To do that, he would have to get stronger, and Orochimaru could grant him the power he would need.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Eyelids flickered as the final traces of sleep began to fade and the teen became aware of his surroundings.

He groaned and closed his eyes again. His head hurt, actually, forget that, his entire body hurt. He tried to lift his hand, but his arm wouldn't move. He could move his fingers a bit but that was about it, nothing else would move.

He opened his eyes, the room was dark.

"You actually woke up. We weren't sure if you would, you shouldn't even be alive right now." A figure said as they entered the room and approached the teen laying on the bed. As the figure came closer her features became visible. She had blue hair, some of it was up in a bun with some kind of flower, and she wore a black cloak with red clouds on it.

The boy sighed, "What happened?" He asked while closing his eyes again.

"You gave yourself up to save your friend."

"I know that…why am I still alive? You were extracting Kyuubi, I should be dead, right?" He looked over at her, he found he could move his head a little, but it was painful.

"Yeah, you should be, but when we finished the sealing, you were still breathing. We don't know why you survived, the other jinchuuriki that we sealed away died. We thought maybe your death was just slower than the Nibi's host, but over the past several hours your condition has continued to improve. We're still investigating why you managed to survive. By the looks of it though, you should make a full recovery." Konan's voice betrayed that she was hiding something.

Naruto thought for a moment, "But?"

Konan sighed, "But, we won't be able to let you leave here alive."

Naruto closed his eyes and nodded slightly, he already knew that. They wouldn't be able to risk him telling anyone where they were, but if they had let him live this long then they must have some other use for him.

"I'll let you rest some more, you look like you're still tired." Konan said and began to retreat.

"Sasuke. Is he safe?" Naruto asked before she could leave.

Konan stopped and looked back at him, his eyes were still closed. "You'd have to ask Itachi, he didn't say anything about what he did with your friend. I'm sorry."

Naruto nodded. When he had given himself up to Itachi, it had been on the condition that Sasuke be released without harm, ideally as close to Konoha as possible. He sighed, _'What have I gotten myself into now?'_

_XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX  
_

Naruto could sense a familiar chakra at his door so he didn't bother to open his eyes when the figure opened the door.

"I hope you kept up your end of the deal." Naruto said opening his eyes to stare at the ceiling.

"I'm impressed you're still able to sense chakra." Itachi said as he approached the side of Naruto's bed.

Naruto turned his head to look at him. He could move a little more now than he'd been able to when Konan had left him a few hours earlier. "What did you do with Sasuke?" Naruto asked calmly, but it was impossible to miss the threatening undertone.

"Relax; I released him safe and sound, as promised." Naruto calmed down when he heard that Sasuke was safe after all.

"But, I didn't come here to discuss my little brother, it's been almost four days since you last ate." For the first time Naruto noticed that Itachi was carrying what appeared to be a bowl. "You need to eat, so sit up, I promise it isn't poisoned."

Naruto internally laughed, he never though he'd see the day that Itachi would be trying to assure him that he _wasn't_ trying to kill him. "I'm not worried about poison, if you wanted to kill me you would have done it already." Naruto said although he didn't move.

"So sit up, you can't eat lying down." Itachi said.

"Unfortunately that's impossible," Naruto said, but decided to elaborate when he saw Itachi raise an eyebrow in question. "I can't move; I've just barely regained the ability to turn my head and bend my wrists. Unfortunately, the rest of my body is completely useless right now."

Naruto could see the internal sigh on Itachi's face even if nobody else would have. Spending so much time around Sasuke certainly had its benefits. Naruto watched as Itachi set his food on the table beside the bed before he lifted Naruto into a sitting position. Naruto cringed as pain shot through his body, but he refused to say anything.

If Itachi noticed the pain Naruto was in, he didn't say anything. Instead he asked, "Can you lift your arms?"

"Not yet, unfortunately." Naruto growled, he knew where this was going to lead and it was sure to be a big blow to his pride. So of course, he couldn't help but glare a little as Itachi sat next to him on the bed with the bowl of soup in his hand.

Itachi saw the glare and internally sighed (again), "It's not like I have much of a choice; you have to eat."

"I know, but it doesn't mean I have to like it." Naruto said, but he let Itachi feed him none-the-less.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Sasuke walked down into the dark tunnel that led to Orochimaru's current base. Orochimaru would be mad at him for returning so late after his mission, but he didn't care, it hadn't been his fault that he had just so happened to run into Itachi on his way back. And it definitely wasn't his fault he had been knocked out for three days! Nor was it his fault that Itachi had left him so far away from Otogakure.

When he finally made it to the door of the room where he would report to Orochimaru he paused and took a moment to make sure his facade was perfect before entering the room. He didn't want to slip up and show any weakness to his new teacher. He slowly entered the room. His face showed no emotion, there was nothing to show that he was quite upset at the loss of his best friend. Orochimaru wouldn't suspect that anything had changed in the past few days. Not that anything really had. Sasuke still wanted revenge, but now, he wanted to kill all the Akatsuki members, not just his brother.

"You're late….Sasuke-kun."

**Ok! Well that's it for this chapter! The next chapter will have some of Sasuke's training and we might just find out why Naruto's still alive! **

**So Please review! I want to hear all your opinions and ideas.**


	3. Chapter 3

**I'm so sorry this is so horribly late, I had the first half of it written months ago, then the writer's block hit and by the time I got over that I was so busy I didn't have time to write anymore, but here it is at last, the third chapter. It's a little shorter than I'd intended but at least it's up. Adopted from Wander of Souls and Light.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto…unfortunately.**

"Talking" '_thinking'_ **"kyuubi" Flashback**

**Chapter 3 **

Pein sighed. He just didn't understand it. They hadn't had any troubles extracting any of the other tailed beasts so why hadn't this one gone right?

"What's wrong?" Konan asked as she entered Pein's office.

"The Kyuubi wasn't sealed within the statue." He said calmly, but anyone could hear the hidden anger in his voice.

"You think Kyuubi is still in the boy?" Konan asked surprised.

"It can't be anywhere else. It's not in the statue. And it's not like it's running around the base."

"So what do we do now?" Konan asked, "The boy woke up a few hours ago, Itachi just took him some food, what should we do with him?"

"Keep him locked up for now, we can't let him leave here. Besides we still need Kyuubi. I'll think about what to do with him. I don't want to make any mistakes. Konoha is strong; as long as they don't know that Kyuubi hasn't been sealed away we have the advantage."

Konan nodded before she left the room to tell the others what had been decided.

Naruto sighed, it had been hours since Itachi had left and he had gotten tired of worrying about what would happen to him now, so, his thoughts turned toward his home. Despite what others might think he didn't miss Konoha, far from it in fact. He was glad to be away from the torture of his home village. It was no secret that they all hated him, but nobody knew of the real torment he had suffered in the village. Not a day passed without somebody attacking him, usually a Jonin or ANBU. He could do nothing to protect himself, not only were the ninja far stronger than he was, but he was also forbidden from attacking (or defending against) any member of the village, ninja or not. The consequences were far worse than the beating he'd take from the other ninja. The only thing that had made his life in Konoha bearable had been Sasuke's company, Sasuke was the only person that treated him like he was normal, he was the only one that wasn't cautious around him just because he was the Kyuubi jinchuuriki. Then Sasuke had left him, and there was nothing to take way the pain of living in the village.

He'd been lucky when Jiraiya offered to take him out of the village on a training trip, but even Jiraiya had been cautious around him. It had hurt to know that even his own teacher, the man who had taught the fourth Hokage, was cautious of him, afraid that at any moment he would become the beast within him.

Honestly, he'd almost been looking forward to his death, maybe then the pain would finally stop.

"**I swear! You're so damn depressing kit. Quite you're moping, I don't wanna hear it."** Kyuubi growled.

Naruto's thoughts halted. He blinked, once, twice, three times. _'Kyuubi?'_

"**Who else would it be?" **Kyuubi asked clearly annoyed by his host's stupidity.

_'but...you...they...they extracted you from me, you're supposed to be sealed inside that giant statue thing.'_ Naruto thought surprised by Kyuubi's presence, although it would certainly explain why he was still alive.

"**Obviously they failed."**

_'Obviously.' _Naruto thought.

"**So what's the plan? How do you plan to escape?"** Kyuubi asked curious to know what his host had planned.

_'I don't have a plan. It's impossible to escape. The room is constantly absorbing my chakra, besides that it's painful to move. There's no way for me to fight.'_

"**So you're just gonna lay there and wait for them to try and kill you again? That's really smart kit, wish I had thought of that."** The sarcasm in Kyuubi's voice was thick as he turned to move deeper into his cage. **"Let me know when you have a better idea."**

_'I don't know what to do...there's really nothing I can do.'_ Naruto replied, although he doubted Kyuubi was listening.

Sasuke sighed as he continued to stare at the ceiling in his room. He was supposed to be sleeping, but he couldn't. The screams of terror that echoed throughout the base had kept him awake ever since the first day he'd gotten here, even before his mission, but that wasn't what was keeping him awake now. He couldn't get images of a dead Naruto out of his head. He hadn't even seen the boy dead but the image was stuck in his head and as long as it was, he wouldn't be able to sleep

Naruto didn't bother to look at the door when it opened the next morning, he already knew who it was. Itachi's chakra was the only one he really recognized in this place. Konan had only visited once and he hadn't been paying much attention to her chakra signature, and he had never met any of the others besides Kisame. So when the familiar chakra came to his door for the second time he didn't bother to look, he knew that as long as he still had Kyuubi they wouldn't kill him.

Itachi walked over to the side of his bed, "Get up. Leader-sama wants to see you."

Naruto looked at Itachi blankly. The leader of Akatsuki wanted to talk to him? Why didn't he just come here? Oh well, he wasn't gonna miss a chance to get out of this dreary room. He sat up slowly, his body still hurt, before swinging his legs off the bed. When he tried to stand though his legs buckled from under him and he fell to the ground, shaking in pain. That sealing technique had taken a lot out of him.

Itachi sighed before leaning down and picking Naruto up.

Naruto looked at him in surprise, but said nothing as he was carried out of the room.

Naruto looked at the man that had been introduced to him as the Akatsuki's leader, Pein, like he was crazy, "Hold on. Let me get this straight. You… want me…to join the Akatsuki. You do realize you were just trying to kill me right?" Naruto asked suspiciously.

"Unfortunately, it seems that it's impossible for us to extract the Kyuubi for the time being. As we can't just let you go, I thought I may as well try to make some use of the situation. Ultimately it's your choice, you can remain our prisoner locked in that room until the time comes when we can extract Kyuubi, or you can make yourself of some use and serve us, of course your loyalty would not come without reward. I believe we just received word that your friend Uchiha Sasuke has returned to Orochimaru's side, we could give you the training and the opportunity you would need to save your friend, the same friend you so recklessly threw your life away for."

Naruto looked at the man in surprise, was he really offering to let him save Sasuke? "You…You'd let me save Sasuke, before-before I died?" Naruto asked.

"In exchange for your loyalty, this is the least we could do. But don't rush to a decision, take your time, you're in no shape to begin your training anyway. I'll summon you again in a week, hopefully by then your body will be healed and you will have made up your mind one way or the other."

Naruto only nodded in response as Pein motioned for Itachi to take him back to his room.

It was early, even by Sasuke's standards, but considering he had been completely unable to sleep, this was better than laying in bed. When he's had enough of laying in bed unable to sleep he'd come to the training room to do something useful. This was odd behavior for him and he knew Orochimaru would probably question him for it, but he really didn't care right now. He was tired of seeing images of Naruto's dead body flash through his mind, he needed the distraction, even if he'd have to pay for it later.

**A/N: Ok so what do you think? Good? Bad? Absolutely horrible? Confusing? If you have any questions please ask.**

**I really need your guy's help for the next chapter, I need help with ideas for Sasuke's training, I've pretty much got Naruto's part for the next chapter figured out, but I need help with Sasuke, he's getting harder to write for.**

**Anyway, let me know what you think.**


	4. Chapter 4

**Disclaimer: Hmmm….still don't own Naruto.**

"Talking" _'Thinking' _**"Kyuubi" Flashback**

**Chapter 4**

Naruto stared at the ceiling of his room. He was amazed how slow a week could pass when you had absolutely nothing to do. He knew five days had passed since he had spoken with Pein, but it had seemed more like five weeks. Itachi brought him two meals a day one in the morning and one in the evening; this was probably the only way Naruto could tell how much time had passed. At first he hadn't spoken to Itachi at all, but he could only handle the silence for so long, after the second day he'd been unable to keep quiet. He remembered the first time he'd spoken; Itachi had seemed surprised by his sudden willingness to talk.

**Flashback**

"**Why are you the only that comes in here?" Naruto asked as Itachi handed him his breakfast. Itachi raised an eyebrow in surprise; it was the first time Naruto had spoken since Pein had summoned him.**

"**What do you mean?"**

"**I mean, there are what? …Ten Akatsuki members? And you're the only one that brings me food. For that matter, you're the only one that comes anywhere near this room. I haven't felt another chakra signature anywhere near the door."**

"**There are nine members, and the others are busy completing missions."**

"**And you're not?" Naruto asked curiously.**

"**Kisame and I have been given a break, soon we will have to return to our missions as well. At that time Deidara and Sasori will return and be given a break."**

"**So there are always two teams here at the base? Pein and his partner, the girl with the blue hair, and another team?"**

"**Yes." Itachi answered simply.**

"**Why doesn't Kisame ever come instead of you?" **

**Naruto swore he saw a look of mild amusement flash across Itachi's face. "Kisame refuses to 'babysit' as he calls it."**

**End Flashback**

Naruto sighed at the memory, Itachi hadn't held back information, he'd willingly answered all of Naruto's questions. He was obviously confident that even with the information Naruto wouldn't be able to escape.

He sighed and again thought about Pein's offer. He hadn't been able to make up his mind. The Akatsuki were the bad guys, he didn't want to help them complete their goals, but at the same time, they'd also offered to let him save Sasuke. Sasuke was the only person in the world he'd give up everything for: his life, his home, even his morals; he'd throw them all away for Sasuke. The offer was tempting. And after a week trapped in this room, he wasn't sure his sanity would allow him to refuse the offer.

'_Kyuubi?'_

"**What do you want kit?" ** The fox answered, his annoyance was clear.

'_What do you think of Pein's offer?'_ Naruto asked, he hadn't asked the fox for his opinion yet and he was curious what the fox thought.

"**I think it's our only chance at escape, and whatever training they intend to give you can't hurt. Perhaps if you're lucky they'll be able to cure your stupidity."**

He hadn't thought of it as an opportunity to escape, but Kyuubi was right. He could take advantage of the Akatsuki. He could train and get stronger, strong enough to save Sasuke, and then…he could escape.

He knew Pein must have seen the risk in his plan, how could he not. Pein wanted his help, and he was willing to risk his escape to get it.

Naruto continued to think over this new idea and before he knew it Itachi's chakra signature was outside his door.

'_Dinner already?'_ he thought, time had passed much more quickly today.

Sure enough, Itachi came through the door carrying his dinner.

Naruto was half-way done eating when he finally decided to talk, "Hey Itachi,"

"hm?"

"If I refuse Pein's offer, is this what I have to look forward to? Day after day of absolutely nothing." Naruto asked.

Itachi looked at him for a moment, "probably."

"I really don't have much of a choice then, do I?" Naruto muttered to himself, before finishing his food.

"There's always a choice." Itachi answered, "Some choices are just easier than others."

Naruto handed his bowl back to Itachi. Since he'd visited Pein he'd been recovering quickly. He could finally walk properly with only a small limp; he spent most of his day pacing the room in thought to pass the time.

Before Itachi left Naruto had one last question, "If I do accept Pein's offer, who would teach me?" Naruto asked.

Itachi looked back over his shoulder, "Each one of us has something different to teach, who you learn from depends on what you want to learn."

Naruto watched as Itachi left and he was alone again.

* * *

Sasuke waited. Orochimaru was late for his training again. It was odd but the last few days the snake had been late to each one of his training sessions. Something had to be up, something that Sasuke didn't know about, but Sasuke didn't care if the world was ending; Orochimaru was supposed to be here training him. How was he supposed to get stronger without Orochimaru's help?

"Well?" Pein asked as Itachi entered the room.

"The isolation seems to be wearing on him, he's definitely thinking of joining us. A few more days and his cooperation should be assured." Itachi answered.

Pein nodded before dismissing Itachi. His plan was working, for better or worse, Naruto would join them.

Finally. Orochimaru was finally there.

Sasuke stood up, "you're late."

"Not everything can be about you Ssasuke-kun; unfortunately we've had some bad news. It seems the Akatsuki managed to capture and extract the Kyuubi. The more power they gain the less favorable it is for us."

Sasuke glared, but didn't answer. Instead he took up a fighting stance and waited for Orochimaru to do the same.

* * *

Naruto looked at Pein, the week was finally over. It was time for his decision.

"What will you do?" Pein asked. "Will you join us in exchange for the chance to save your friend, or will you remain our prisoner until we can extract Kyuubi?"

Naruto sighed, this was it, he was going to throw everything away for Sasuke, again. "I'll join you, but you have to promise I'll get the chance to save Sasuke before I die."

"You have my word." Pein promised before asking, "How are you recovering? When will you be able to begin your training?"

"I've already recovered, I may not be at my best yet, but I can begin training immediately." Naruto answered surprised that Pein expected no promise of loyalty.

"Then you'll begin your training with Itachi today." Pein answered before dismissing him.

Naruto walked over to Itachi, who was still standing by the door.

"Follow me." Itachi said leading the way from the room.

"What will you be teaching me?" Naruto asked following Itachi. He knew Itachi used genjutsu and fire element techniques, neither of which Naruto was able to use.

"Taijutsu."

**A.N. Wow…it's been a while…I actually almost forgot about this. I have a pretty good idea of where I'm going with this…but I'm not sure when I'll be able to update again….Hopefully soon! **


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